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Recruitment and Selection Policy

The County’s recruitment and selection procedures are designed and administered to provide open competitive processes for qualified candidates and to allow the County to evaluate job-related education, skills, and knowledge of candidates as compared to those factors required to successfully perform each County job. The County seeks to select individuals who are qualified to perform the duties and responsibilities of each job, and to deliver services to the public in an effective manner. The County will consider candidates presenting the most closely qualified match of education and experience to meet job-related knowledge, skills and abilities requirements, as determined through a consistent and relevant selection process.

The County shall conduct its recruitment and selection processes in a fair and equitable manner to recruit, select, and advance personnel on the basis of relative ability, knowledge, and skills, consistent with the law, free from discriminatory practices, and upholding equal employment opportunity. The County is committed to staff development, and it values the opportunity to promote from within the County to fill vacant positions. Regular employees are encouraged to seek promotional opportunities.

In order to provide the best possible services to the residents of [County Name], Human Resources staff will partner with County hiring managers, through the recruitment process. Department Heads shall have the opportunity to participate in the selection process to fill employment vacancies as they occur.

Procedure

The [Human Resources Manager] will establish the forms and systems to identify vacant positions, post and advertise vacant positions, collect and screen applications, provide for, formulate and hold competitive employment examinations and interviews, design scoring systems based on job qualifications and duties, oversee background and reference checks, oversee job offers, and coordinate the pre-placement processes.

Filling Budgeted Positions

[The Department Head or their designee] shall notify the [Human Resources Manager] of their desire to fill a vacant position by completing a [Personnel Requisition Form]. The [Human Resources Manager] approves filling budgeted vacancies unless a specific exception exists (e.g., a lay-off list, hiring freeze, etc.). If such an exception exists, the [Human Resources Manager] shall discuss with the [Department Head] to determine appropriate action.

Vacancies

A vacancy shall be defined as any unfilled position approved by the County Board as part of the regular budget process or approved by subsequent County Board action. Vacancies may be filled by reemployment, reinstatement, promotion, demotion, transfer, temporary or interim appointment, or new hire.

Recruitment

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The [Human Resources Department] shall prepare and publish a notice of the vacancy using internal and/or external sources in such a manner as to provide open competition of qualified applicants. The notice shall specify the position's title (or approved working title), salary range and/or hiring range, a description of the duties and responsibilities, essential functions, minimum qualifications, typical working hours, application procedure and other pertinent information. Such announcements shall be posted to allow a reasonable period of time for interested parties to apply. Vacancies will be posted for internal applicants, and in addition, may also be posted for external applicants. [Optional – The County may specify a minimum timeframe for jobs to be posted, e.g., postings shall be made available and applications accepted for a period of at least five days.]

Applications

An applicant for a vacancy shall complete an employment application and submit additional required forms, reports, or materials to provide information describing their skills, education, experience, licenses, other qualifications, documentation for veteran’s preference, etc.

The application process will contain a certification by the applicant, attesting to the accuracy of the statements made and information submitted during the application process. Information provided in applications may be verified and previous employers may be contacted. The [Human Resources Department] may require presentation of transcripts, certificates, licenses and other evidence to substantiate qualifications claimed through the application process. Should it later be determined that statements made or other information provided during the application process were false, the individual may be subject to immediate dismissal, regardless of length of service. Application data shall be maintained by the [Human Resources Department].

ScreeningThe [Human Resources Department] shall receive and track applications. [Department Heads] and their designees including [hiring managers] and/or [Human Resources staff] will screen applications for minimum qualifications. Incomplete or illegible applications may be considered as not meeting the minimum qualifications.

The appointing authority works with [the Human Resources Department] to design a selection process which includes, at a minimum, an objective screening tool to evaluate applications for job-related knowledge, skills, experience, education, and training. The [Human Resources Department] shall oversee developing supplemental application questions to ascertain an applicant’s minimum and preferred qualifications for a vacant position. The scores on the screening tool are used to determine which applicants will move forward in the selection process. The selection process may include competitive examinations, experience and training ratings, physical abilities assessments, medical and/or psychological examinations, performance tests, work samples, oral exams, and/or other valid selection techniques.

Accommodation for Applicants with a Disability

An individual with a disability may request a reasonable accommodation during the application and/or selection process by contacting the [Human Resources Department] and providing information regarding the need for accommodation. To be considered for employment, an individual must be able to meet the minimum qualifications for the job, with or without a reasonable accommodation. An

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applicant or candidate for County employment who can be reasonably accommodated without creating an undue hardship or causing a direct threat to workplace safety will be provided a reasonable accommodation during the application and selection process. Such applicant/candidate will be given the same consideration for employment as other qualified applicants. Applicants who pose a direct threat to the health, safety and well-being of themselves or others in the workplace, when the threat cannot be eliminated by reasonable accommodation, will not be hired.

Veteran’s Preference

As part of hiring processes where applicants may be eligible to receive veteran’s preference, the County will incorporate notification of the availability of veteran’s preference points and provide a process to request this preference along with procedure for submitting a copy of the veteran’s Form DD214 or other appropriate documentation. Veteran’s preference does not apply in selection processes for department head positions or temporary positions which meet requirements to be defined as either a department head or temporary position as relates to veteran’s preference law.

Veteran’s preference points shall be applied at a meaningful point in the selection process for all open competitive examinations, exclusive of department head and temporary positions as noted above, and in accordance with Minnesota Statutes § 197.455. Where a hiring process is open to the public, internal candidates are entitled to the same veteran’s preference they would receive if they were an external candidate in that process.

In order to receive preference points, an individual must be a veteran or otherwise qualify for veteran’s preference as defined by state guidelines, and must provide appropriate documentation. The veteran must also receive a passing score (e.g., meet minimum qualifications for the position) on the examination in order to have preference points applied. Eligible disabled veterans may apply for veteran’s preference points during an internal promotional examination, when applying for an initial promotion after entering public employment.

Pertinent Personal Relationships

No preference in hiring is given to immediate or extended family members of current employees or elected officials or to an applicant where the applicant will be the supervisor or subordinate of another employee or elected official with whom the applicant has a personal relationship, where the existence of such a relationship is highly likely to impair the organizational integrity of the work unit to which the applicant would be assigned, and/or the existence of which is highly likely to impair the job performance of the applicant or the employee or elected official.

Eligibility Lists

The [Human Resources Manager] shall establish and maintain a list of eligible candidates for certain positions and determine the period of time an eligibility list shall remain in effect. The eligibility list shall not remain in effect for a period greater than [one year OR two years].

Selection ProcessesBased on the applicant scores on the final element of the selection process (interviews, tests, etc.) and after including any claimed veteran’s preference points, the [Human Resources Manager] shall certify

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the top [three] qualified candidates for the position to the appointing authority, who may select any of the [three] candidates without any further justification for that selection.

If more than one vacancy is to be filled, the names of [two] additional eligible candidates shall be given to the appointing authority for each vacancy.

The [Human Resources Department] or [the hiring manager] shall check a minimum of [two] employment references on the selected candidate. Acceptable reference sources should generally be in a position to have knowledge of the candidate’s work product and/or skills and qualifications relevant to the job, and will ideally include past or current supervisors or other individuals in a role overseeing the individual’s work. The County may also require additional checks or verifications as relevant to the position, including drug testing, background checks, criminal history, credit checks, driver’s license checks, professional license and academic verifications. Some positions also require Minnesota Statutes Chapter 604 civil liability verifications.

Job OfferThe [Human Resources Manager or designee] shall extend a formal employment offer to the selected candidate including the starting date, salary, benefits, employment status and other conditions of employment, which shall be confirmed in writing. In the unusual circumstance that it is necessary to appoint a selected candidate to a position before all required information is gathered, the employment offer shall be conditional upon the satisfactory results from the final information gathering process(es). In such cases, the selected candidate shall be required to sign a statement accepting a conditional appointment.

The [Human Resources Department] shall promptly notify applicants not selected for a position, addressing the specific requirements of collective bargaining agreements and veteran’s preference.

Upon arrival, the new employee will attend an orientation to County employment.

Reinstatement

Former employees who separated voluntarily in good standing may receive consideration for reinstatement to their former classification, upon the agreement of the [Department Head] and the [Human Resources Manager]. Reinstated employees may receive consideration for previous employment for the purposes of [pay, benefits, probationary period, and seniority] for up to [one year] after termination.

[Tip – As with all personnel actions, terms of reinstatement may be subject to union agreement and/or defined by an existing collective bargaining agreement (CBA) for represented positions. If an individual under consideration for reinstatement will return to a represented position, be sure to review the applicable CBA and ensure terms of the reinstatement are clear and formally agreed upon with the union.]

Reemployment

Reemployed individuals are normally considered new employees, without consideration of previous employment for purposes of pay, benefits, or seniority and shall serve a probationary period.

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Extraordinary Circumstances

In situations where it is difficult to recruit and attract qualified candidates for a particular position, the [Department Head] and the [Human Resources Manager] may agree to offer a candidate credit for prior work experience in a directly related position to determine accrual rates and banked vacation and sick leave [OR paid time off (PTO)] hours.

Temporary Appointments

Employment in a temporary appointment is for a limited period of time. Temporary appointments are not subject to the requirements defined for recruitment and selection in open competitive processes as described above. No preference in hiring is given to relatives of current employees or elected officials. It is preferred that appointments be made from a relevant temporary employment eligibility list.

An individual temporarily appointed to a position shall be subject to removal at any time and shall acquire no tenure or seniority in the position to which they are temporarily appointed. If the individual is subsequently appointed to the position in a regular status role, the period of service under the temporary appointment shall not be counted as part of their probationary period.

When a position is filled by temporary appointment of a current County employee from another classification, such employee shall be compensated at a rate of pay appropriate to the classification of temporary appointment, but all other benefits shall be computed on the basis of the primary classification to which the employee is assigned.

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